back before the internet, shops and offices had no choice but to interface directly with people, mostly in person or on the phone, and so it made sense to hire the perky extrovert to work that station.
but now we have the internet. we've had it for twenty years. two full decades. why do i still have to talk to this person, particularly for routine tasks like scheduling appointments?
part of the reason is probably the continued cultural practice of hiring extroverts (which might still make sense given that people do have to come in for their appointment).
but mostly it's to make the employee's job easier for them. whether it's formalized or not (as with an IT Help Desk), receptionists, schedulers, tech support, and call center folks all have a queue. you are a case. they don't want to juggle multiple cases. they want to talk to you, handle your case, and move on to the next one.
in other words, they make you talk to them because it's easier for them, not because it's easier for you.
to be fair, weirdos and narcissists probably like talking on the phone, or (heaven forbid) stopping by in person. ugh. i do not. i don't want to talk to you. in fact, i don't want to talk to anyone. i want to send an email or text, like this:
i'd like to come in on thursday.
we're booked on thursday. can you do
wednesday at 3:00 or friday morning?
can we do friday at 9:00?
yes, we have you down for friday at 9:00.
please remember to bring the appropriate
forms.
great thank you.
and then there's the whole reminder call bullshit. i didn't want to talk to you before. i certainly don't want to talk to you now. i'm going to see you tomorrow for fuck's sake! you're like a clingy high school girlfriend. if you have a problem with missed appointments, send a goddamned text.
OR -- and this is a real mind-bender -- ask people what their preferred method of contact is. i'm the fucking customer. i'm paying YOU. it's not my job to make yours easier.
reason #1,286 why i fell in love my girlfriend: back when we were just friends, all our communication (when we were not physically in each other's presence) was email, text, or chat. period. we met again this spring, after not seeing each other for A YEAR AND A HALF, having never once communicating via phone. ever.
it was wonderful.
two years ago, i switched vets because the old one not only required you to call up front (for anything), and then called you back with a reminder, but they also called after the appointment to see that everything was just peachy!
no, it's not. stop fucking calling me.
when i CALLED to ask them to fax the boys' medical history to another vet, the perky tech on the phone did the whole, "can you tell us why?"
i said, "you're too emotionally needy for me."
